file photo by Boyd Loving
SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING – MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING
There will be a Village Council Special Public Meeting held on Friday, January 8, 2016 @ 5PM in the Court Room at Village Hall. Various Consultants will be presenting proposals for the 4 Multi-Family Housing Studies covering; fiscal impact, traffic, education & municipal infrastructure
Dear Councilwoman Knudsen, Village Council and Village Manager:
On behalf of the Supporters of Citizens for a Better Ridgewood (CBR), I request that the Village Council promptly review and change the date of the Multifamily Housing Impact Study Presentations, which are apparently set for Friday, January 8th at 5pm. This meeting MUST be scheduled at a time that will encourage Resident input and attendance… after all it is called a “Special PUBLIC Meeting.” The current scheduling has the direct and true effect of substantially eliminating the ability of many (or most) Residents from being able to attend. We recognize you are working hard to expedite these presentations, but nevertheless, the serious public attendance issues with a Friday 1/8, 5pm timeslot should have been evident and understood as a given before making this problematic change. This issue and this meeting are too important to your Resdients. Beyond the fact that Fridays are generally an inopportune time for such events, the 5pm timing eliminates most Residents with school age children (as this is their dinnertime), as well as the majority of our workers and commuters, who will not be home in time to attend. Given this, who then, is this “Public” meeting planned for?
While I am sure this was not intended, leaving the meeting set for such a difficult time, creates the divisive appearance that the Village Council is seeking to bypass or avoid public attendance and input. That is most certainly not what our Council, or our Village needs at this time. Our Mayor has been a vocal advocate of finding ways to improve the tenor of public discourse. Providing an “inaccessible” meeting time, for such an important event, will raise the level of frustration, Resident-exclusion and act as a setback to those noble intents.
The timing of this meeting is wrong for Ridgewood. Please reschedule at a time that encourages public attendance.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Dave Slomin
